COVID-19 Advocacy Support Grant

African Advocacy for an Equitable COVID-19 Response

Request for Proposals

July 11^th, 2022 – October 31st, 2023

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African Alliance

The Alliance envisions a world where communities of people who face injustice and abuse of power can be confident that others will stand in solidarity with them in the pursuit of a more equal and just global society that practices radical love, to defend, uphold, preserve and extend their own and others’ rights. We seek to advance rights-based, critical and developmental programming to address the needs of underserved communities across Africa by working collectively to ensure that affected communities are informed about their rights; have access to dignified health care and the agency and access to hold duty bearers to account for the non-realisation of these rights.

Peoples Vaccine Alliance

The People’s Vaccine Alliance is a coalition of over 90 organisations and networks, supported by Nobel Laureates, health experts, economists, Heads of States, faith leaders and activists, working together for a People’s Vaccine, available free of charge to everyone, everywhere.

Peoples Vaccine Alliance – Africa

In recognition of the urgent need – further highlighted by the pandemic – to decolonise global health and pandemic response systems, to ensure that African voices are heard, and our priorities articulated and advocated for, the African Alliance is home to the Peoples Vaccine Alliance in Africa. Governed by a Steering Group comprised of regional civil society leaders from all five regions of the continent and chaired by the African Alliance, the work of the PVA in Africa is truly indigenous-led and shaped by the global strategy of the Peoples Vaccine Alliance.

Invitation to apply for a COVID-19 Advocacy Support Grant

The African Alliance is pleased to invite interested organisations who meet the criteria below to apply to be considered as Sub Grantees.

Eligibility Criteria

Must be an Indigenous-led organisation – This means that your organisation must be led by people who are descendants of the original inhabitants of the land in which the organisation operates. This includes groups who have not adopted significant parts of colonised culture.
Must have a main or head office located in Africa
Must not be an International Non-Government Organisation
Must declare a policy and practice of being non-discriminatory to any groups, including but not limited to Sex workers, LGBTQIA+ Communities, People living with HIV, People with disabilities, People who use Drugs, People in Detention, Migrant Populations
Must have active partnerships or a presence in rural communities in-country
You will need to confirm that you have a zero-tolerance approach to and prohibition of sexual exploitation and abuse by all staff, volunteers and consultants, partners, beneficiaries and community members.

We will also ask you to provide:

Proof of non-governmental and non-profit legal status – we appreciate that not all organisations will meet this requirement, and if this is the case, you will be asked to provide a brief overview of why this is the case; this can be due to repressive legislation that limits the registration of advocacy groups or groups representing the interests of specific key populations. The non-availability of a formal registration document in this context above will not affect funding decisions.
Information on your governance – This means you must have a structure that makes decisions about the work of the group/organisation or movement and these decisions recorded in writing and signed. This group of people is sometimes called a Board of Directors.
Information about how you manage your finances – we will ask you to provide records of how you manage your organisations finances. This can be in the form of an audited financial statement and it can also be a detailed record of money received and money spent.
Information about your team – this can be a list of the people on your team and what they do in the organisation. This includes the person who is overally responsible for the work of the organisation, the person who keeps records of the funds, the person who implements the activities, the person who manages your finances and any other person who works in the team towards your goals.
A list of donations or funds that you have received since 2020
Any reports you have produced for previously funded projects or letters of recommendation from your partners testifying to the work you have done in your country
Any tools or templates you use to see if you are making progress in your work. These can be monthly reports or meeting reports for example.

Selection Process and Criteria and Dates

Publication of call: 12^th May 2022
Open Call for Q&A: 19^th May 2022 (13:00 SAST)
Deadline for submitting applications: 30^th May 2022
Initial Compliance Screening: 31^st – 3^rd June 2022
Shortlisting – based on RFP and potential for impact: 6^th – 10^th June 2022
PVA Africa Steering Committee reviews shortlisted applications: 13^th – 17^th June 2022
PVA Steering Committee votes on shortlist: 20^th June 2022
All applicants informed of outcome: 21^th June 2022
Due Diligence Conducted with selected sub grantees: 22^nd June – 1^st of July 2022
All contracting finalised and first tranches disbursed: 8^th July 2022
Public Announcement of Sub Grantees: 4^th July 2022
Project Implementation begins: 11^th July 2022

How will we select Sub Grantees?

The selection of submissions will be managed by the PVA Africa Steering Committee, which is comprised of a represented of civil society from each African region.

Process stages:

The first stage of the selection process assesses for compliance with pre-qualification criteria conducted by the PVA Africa Secretariat with support from the PVA Africa Steering Committee. Applications that do not comply and do not provide sufficient justification for non-compliance will not be evaluated further.
The Second stage involves an online due diligence process by The African Alliance Finance and Grants representative to determine the potential level of risk that The African Alliance will assume. If needed capacity strengthening support will be offered to the potential sub grantee
The Third stage of the evaluation process is for the PVA Secretariat and PVA SC to further discuss the outcomes of the Pre award assessments then finalise the sub grantees based on proposed approach, alignment with the current work and strategy of the PVA, and expertise of implementing similar interventions.